Baker had a season-high 24 points and 13 rebounds and provided
the dagger with an acrobatic jumper in the lane as the
SuperSonics remained hot with a 109-103 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers.

Baker, who was out of shape and unproductive during the
lockout-shortened campaign after coming over from Milwaukee, has
displayed a renewed resolve this season.

"Baker is having a good year. He has been the key to our early
success," Sonics coach Paul Westphal said. "His conditioning is
so much better than it was last year. He is playing like the
All-Star he used to be. He has worked hard and got back into
his former shape."

Former Sonic Shawn Kemp, essentially replaced by Baker last
season, was called for a technical after smacking Baker on the
top of the head with 1:11 to play. Kemp was fouled on the play
and hit a pair of free throws, drawing the Cavaliers within
104-99.

"I think we all made a team effort in really crowding Shawn
tonight in the paint," Baker said. "He's a very good player in
the post, but I think we did a good job of crowding him and
making it tough for him to get open shots."

On the ensuing trip, Baker received a pass along the left
sideline, swung into the lane and unleashed a high, arching
jumper that swished through to give Seattle a seven-point bulge
with 43 seconds remaining.

The 6-11 forward was 9-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 from the
line, where he struggled mightily last season.

"I got out of shape with the lockout and I was not in condition
last year," Baker said. "I let myself get out of shape. This
year I worked hard and I'm happy. Hopefully, I am ahead of last
year. It looks like a bright year ahead."

Gary Payton had 27 points and nine assists for Seattle (5-1),
which is off to a solid start after failing to make the playoffs
for the first time in nine years.

Kemp finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds but fell to 0-3
against his former club. Andrew DeClercq scored 19 points and
Bobby Sura added 15 for the Cavs, who had a three-game winning
streak stopped.

"Anytime you play against your old team, you want to beat them,"
Kemp said. "When I don't shoot well, it brushes off on my
teammates. I can shoot 20-for-20 from the foul line, but I took
a pounding tonight. After a while, playing your old team
doesn't matter that much."

Seattle has won the last eight meetings with Cleveland.

Payton, who fell one point shy of a season high, scored 12
points as the Sonics pulled ahead for good in the third quarter.

The Seattle point guard buried back-to-back jumpers and made a
driving layup before Brent Barry hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-1
run, giving the Sonics a 67-61 lead with 8:46 left in the third
quarter.

Wesley Person collected 10 points for the Cavs, who shot 41
percent (42-of-103) from the field and held a 54-53 edge on the
boards.

"I guess we are not a good team after a layoff," Cleveland coach
Randy Wittman said of his team's four-day rest. "We were too
soft, particularly at the start of the game and the start of the
second half. They scored 65 points in those two quarters, and
we did not have intensity."

Kemp, who spent his first eight seasons with Seattle, was
8-of-23 from the floor but kept Cleveland in contention with 11
fourth-quarter points.

"I shot the ball terrible tonight," he said. "They forced me to
shoot tough shots that usually go in from the top of the key and
hit nothing but net. They did not go in tonight."

With his team trailing by 11 and 7:38 to play, Kemp converted a
three-point play and made a driving layup to cut the deficit to
94-88. But Baker and Payton proved too much down the stretch as
Cleveland remained winless against Seattle since November 1993.

"It was an up-tempo game and Cleveland did a good job of pushing
the ball right back down our throats after we scored," Baker
said. "So with that type of pace, it's liable to be a big
up-and-down game. But I think at the end, our defense
prevailed."

Payton had 12 points on four 3-pointers during the first
quarter, when Seattle jumped out to a 36-28 lead.

"We were just on fire at the time," he said. "When you come out
with a thing like that, you just have to ride with it until they
fall off. Then we started missing them and then we went to
other stuff, going down to Baker."